Mother's Shadows
by omgapplesxd
Summary: Colette, a witch, has moved from the states to England. She starts up school at Hogwarts and is in for a surprise when she meets a ghost that changes her year. Her new friends the marauders will have to save her from her most terrible fate, but can they
1. Chapter 1

_Alright, everyone! Hello from CP and Ellie! This is our first fanfiction written together! Hope you enjoy!_

_And as if you couldn't figure this out in the first place, we do not own Harry Potter or any other part/characters/setting/anything else you could think of of Harry Potter, and we never will, sadly. D:_

**Chapter 1:**

"So this is Hogwarts."

The October air was brisk and clean, just as I had suspected. The wind blew softly, tossing my swirls of brown hair around. I blinked, stepping out of the carriage. I glanced back to the horses, though they didn't look much like horses at all. Bat-like wings and bones for a body? Not like any horses I had seen in Massachusetts.

Ah, Massachusetts. How I missed the oceans, my old house, my school, my friends. I had attended a muggle school until the age of ten, when I received my letter from the Salem School of Witchcraft and Wizardry telling me that I was, in fact, a witch. There wasn't much surprise there, my father being a Wizard. We had to live low, though, because we were living in muggle community. Only about two weeks ago my father was asked to serve in the Ministry of Magic in England. We moved as soon as possible to London and I was soon shipped away by train to this mysterious school.

I turned my stare back to the castle in front of me, took a deep breath, and started down the path. Before I knew it, I was entering through a large set of doors into a grand hallway. The letter I had received from the school through the mail instructed me to go through the hallway into the Great Hall. It seemed easy enough, but I had not intended on the school being so large.

"Lost?" a low, cool voice said from behind me. Jumping slightly, I spun around to see a handsome looking teenager dressed in black and green robes standing a few feet away. He smirked at me, and walked closer. "No need to be afraid, love. But I see you're a new arrival." He pointed at the bag in my grip. I nodded and shifted my grasp on the bag.

"I'm Colette Bristow," I responded politely. I glanced back at the paper in my hand and then back up to the boy. "Do you know where the Great Hall is?"

"Of course," he grinned, scanning the paper in my hands. He walked forward and past me, then gestured for me to follow. I shifted the bag again and started to follow him.

We entered through another set of grand doors into an even grander room. So this was why the called it the Great Hall. The room was enormous, filled with four long tables stretching from one end of the room to the other. Each of the tables had students either dressed in green and silver robes, blue and silver robes, yellow and black robes, or red and gold robes. Everyone was chatting away eagerly and didn't seem to notice as she walked in.

"So, where do I…" I turned back to face the boy, but he seemed to have disappeared. "How rude," I mumbled under my breath, crunching the paper slightly.

"Attention, students," an overpowering voice echoed through the room, causing everyone to stop and pay attention. "We have a new student joining us this evening, and as I can see, she just joined us." Heads turned to stare at me. Hot blood rushed to my cheeks as every single stare was directed at little old me. I smiled nervously and gave a slight wave in my fingers.  
"Hello," I whispered nervously.

"Colette Bristow will be sorted this evening into one of the houses." He snapped his fingers and a small stool with an old, worn hat appeared in the front of the hall. "I hope you all make her feel welcome. Colette, will you please come up here to be sorted?"

I obediently followed instructions, though still blushing. The walk up to the front of the room was longer than I thought it would be, especially when every single stare was directed at me.

Blinking at the stool, I soon figured out what I was supposed to do. Sit on it and put the hat on, of course, but what to do from there was a mystery to me.

I awkwardly picked the hat up and placed in on my head, then sat on the stool.

"_Ah. A sarcastic one we have here."_ A voice suddenly appeared in my head. I jumped slightly, frightened. A few students snickered at my reflex, but I ignored it.

"_Smart. Brave. Seem fit for Ravenclaw, I think." _I blinked a few times in utter confusion. What was a Ravenclaw?

"_Ah, but you have that loyal characteristic of a Gryffindor. Yes, I have made my decision." _

"Gryffindor!" the hat shouted out, and the table of red and gold students cheered. It took me a moment, but I soon stood up and returned the hat to its place on the stool, then glanced back to the teacher who had been speaking earlier. He gestured to the cheering table, and I followed. I sat at the edge of the table and pushed a swirl of hair behind my ear. What was I supposed to do now?  
"Hi," a cheerful, warm voice said to me. I glanced to my right to see a pretty red-headed girl smiling at me.

"Oh, hi." I responded quietly.

"No need to be nervous, this school is wonderful. You'll feel right at home. I'm Lily Evans, by the way."  
"I'm-"  
"You're Colette," She smiled again. "I know. The Headmaster told us, remember?"

"Oh, right." I nodded, smiling nervously.

"So what year are you?"  
"Huh?"  
"Year, grade, age," she listed.

"Oh. I'm fifteen."  
"Ah! You're a fifth year! Wicked! I am as well!" She beamed and turned back to the table. "You came at the best time. Halloween is our favorite holiday. So where are you from?" She could obviously tell from my lack of an accent that I wasn't from England.  
"I moved from Massachusetts… The States, as I've heard people refer to them as." I shrugged slightly and turned to face the table as well. Were we expecting something?

"Ooh. We don't have many Americans come to our school. I think we have one in Hufflepuff, but not many others."

"Oh," She turned to her other side and began to talk to the girl next to her. I fidgeted with the bag at my side, and then glanced down the table. Nobody particular caught my eye, except for one group of boys. They were louder and crowded with more people. What made them so special?

Suddenly, out of nowhere, food appeared in front of my eyes. Glorious, beautiful food spread all across the table. People immediately started to pile food onto their plates. I looked back to my own plate that had just appeared. Sighing softly, I reached for the cup sitting in front of me, swished it around slightly, then took a sip. It was good. Pumpkin-ey.

Lily helped me navigate my way through the moving staircases and many hallways, until we arrived in front of a portrait.

"Lily, what are we-"

"Scallywag," she spoke directly to the portrait. I stared in disbelief as the obese painted woman began to move. She nodded and the portrait swung open. Lily grinned at me as I continued to stare with my mouth hanging open. "Come on, you have to see the Common room."

The common room was anything but common. Couches and loveseats were spread across the room, while a fireplace flickered and cracked. Desks and chairs were lazily arranged at the other side of the room, covered in books, ink and quills.

"You'll be bunking with me," Lily told me. She walked over to a couch and plopped down with a playful sigh.

I smiled and sat on one of the armchairs. "My roommates are nice, but dreadfully boring."

"That's too bad." I said quietly as I toyed with a swirl of hair.

"Are you always this shy?" She asked bluntly. I glanced up and for the first time today, I smirked.

"I'm always shy on the first day. My friends back in the states wouldn't consider me the least bit shy, though." I responded, letting go of my hair. Lily smiled back at me.

"Aw well, that's good. I can't wait to spring some life into my dull old dorm room. I have a feeling we'll be good friends. And as friends," she sat up straight and flattened out her skirt. "I have to warn you about a group of boys. As attractive, or so I'm told, as they can be, don't be fooled. Those Marauders are quite the bloody-"

A sudden burst of giggles echoed through the previously quiet room. A group of people, mainly giggling girls, came through the portrait. I spun my head toward the entrance. Lily was right about whatever she had started to say. They were attractive, but at the same time looked mischievous.

What was that she called them? Marauders? Oh how clever.

"That's them?" I mouthed to Lily. She rolled her eyes and nodded, glaring into the fireplace.

"Ello, Evans," one of the boys came over and sat next to Lily. She glared into the fireplace and refused to speak back. The other three came over and took spots on other couches and chairs, while the girls giggled their way up to the dorm rooms. I took this time to examine what the 'Marauders' all looked like.

One was as handsome as could be, but he had that kind of mischievous look in his eyes, as if he was going to pull a prank on the next person who walked into the room. The boy bugging Lily had extremely unruly hair and a sort of arrogant grin. A light brown haired boy, who was sitting as far as he could from the other boys, but still a reasonable distance shook his head and glanced around, as if he knew trouble was about to come. The other boy, squat and nervous looking, was glancing back and forth from one boy to another, as if expecting something to happen.

I smiled and leaned back to watch.


	2. Chapter 2

_Second Chapter, everyone:D Written by the wonderful CP! Oh yeah. Almost forgot:  
"__We do not own any part of Harry Potter, nor will we ever, sadly"  
Enjoy:_

**Chapter 2:**

"Oh come on Lily Billy! You know you want to talk to me!" shouted the boy that had been bugging her earlier in what he probably thought to be his most handsome voice ever. To me, and probably the others in the room, he sounded like a whiney two year old who needed their nappy-poo.

"James, GO AWAY!" she screeched at him. I could sense a bit of tension between the two, but it was rather hilarious, and I could help but stifle a laugh. Poor guy, that I now found to be James.

"Did you just call me James? Woah. Is my charm starting to rub off on Ms. Evans over here?"

"I mean…Potter. Just leave me alone, will you!"

"Bu-"

"No buts! Go away! I will never EVER go out with such an idiot like you! EVER, EVER, EVER!"

The ranting continued for quite a while with the same harsh tone as Lily, and the same baby-ish voice of James. I could tell that it was not going to go anywhere, so I thought a nice nap would do the trick. Just as I stood up, and was about to leave, I found a hand reach right on my waist, and turned around to find the handsome man was doing this action. A small bit of heat started to creep up into my cheeks, and I knew in moments I was blushing.

"Now what is a gorgeous lady like you doing going to bed when you've only just arrived?"

"Um…I was hoping to get some sleep?" Oh yeah, smooth move Colette.

"Why don't you just come sit next to me?" Before I could decline, I found the hand that was placed on my waist, was gliding me over to a couch surrounded by marauders. Alright so there was only the striking guy and me on one couch, and then another pretty handsome guy on a chair next to us, who I could tell was staring right at us. Yet again, the heat started to rise in my cheeks. Then there was the pudgy boy in a chair a little farther, so I didn't have to worry as much.

"So what's your name?" he asked me, although I could tell he really didn't seem to care all that much.

"Er…Colette. Colette Bristow."

"I'm Sirius. Sirius Black." An awkward silence paused between the two of us before he spoke again. "Would you like a present for your welcoming?"

"Er…" That's when I knew what he would do. Sirius Black, the boy I had only met about two minutes about, was trying to snog me. No, I was not going to snog him. Infact, I put my hand right in front of his face, slapped him, and shouted "YOU BASTARD!" before walking off! All I could hear was clapping and screaming from the crowd. It was wonderful really, fabulous.

Alright fine, so I didn't do that. It was more like panic mode. Once he leaned in for the kiss, I pushed my hand in front of him, and his lips touched them. I studdered, "I…I've got to go…To…To unpack! Yes! Okay er…Bye!" He probably didn't even know I was gone until I was halfway up the stairs, and out of his sight. Sirius sighed heavily before picking himself back up, and probably waiting for another victim to come. I sat in front of my dormitory for a while, listening to what they all had to say about my odd exit.

"Sirius, you really should not have made a move on her. If you hadn't, maybe you would've had a chance with her. She's a lot better than any of your bimbos, if you haven't noticed," said the other quite good-looking boy, to Black.

"Oh come on. It wasn't that big of a deal. What, does Moony have a tinsy-winsy crushy-wushy?" asked Sirius in a voice that mothers use on their babies when they are only a few months old.

"Um…erm…no."

"Mhm. Whatever you say." Then I heard an outburst from Lily and some steps towards the stairs, when I knew that it was now time for me to act like I had been unpacking. I ran through the dormitory door, and started throwing around clothes onto my bed to look like it. Luckily, she bought it by the time she got into our shared dorm.

None of the girls were actually there yet, except her and I, so it was sort of awkward, although she was really nice to me.

"You are very lucky," she said gracefully, like a ballerina during a stage performance.

"What do you mean? Why am I lucky?"

"Remus likes you."

"Wha-? Who's Remus?"

"The guy that was sitting nearest you and Sirius."

"Oh…No he doesn't. How would you know?"

"He does. Did you see the way he looked at you? The only bad part is that Sirius likes you too I think. Poor, poor you. But be happy, Remus is the only decent marauder of the bunch."

"Oh." Yes, oh was all I could manage to gulp out, although my stomach fluttered with butterflies. Okay, they probably were just playing an act, but oh well. I guess I'd find out in the next few days.

"I don't know about you, but I want a little bit of sleep. What time is it?"

"It's only eight…"

"Well, I'm exhausted from the trip. G'night!" That's all I said before turning out my light, shoving my stuff off of my bed, and getting under the nice and comfy covers. Almost as soft as the ones back home. Oh home, I missed it so dearly. All the wonderful smells of homecooked meals, and pansies just outside. Home sweet home…

_I was awoken by a hand in mine, telling me how great I was and such, so I turned on the light to find out who this dark figure that tells me such things is. I found it to be none other than the great looking Remus. He whispered in my ear, "Come follow me," and I trusted him with all I had, as he took my hand and led me out of the dormitory. We were both in our pajamas, yet it felt so right to leave off with him. We traveled through hallways that I had never seen before, full of strange people, who all seemed to be coupled up, and in dresses and tuxitos. Looking down at my own clothes, I found that I too was now in a very beautiful gown that you could tell probably cost tons of money that I never had. He too, was now in a tuxito like the rest of them. What I was wondering, was why all of them weren't dancing, but then I realized that they were all waiting for us, waiting for Remus and I to start with the first dance. We did, too. We swayed casually back and forth, as if we were doing it for years. His steps were like ice, smooth and sleek, as were mine. He gracefully picked me up and spun me every other moment or so, and it was rather romantic. Everyone else started joining in as we began to finish our dance. Once we finished, Remus led me out of the crowd, and into a garden, full of roses, pansies, daffodils, anything you could ever imagine, right before my eyes. They were beautiful, with all sorts of colors and what not. Magnificent, if you wish to call them. He began to clear his throat, as if to give some wonderful speech that he had prepared for a very long time. Yet only three words came out of his mouth. Alright so four, but three gives a better hint as to what it is._

"_Colette, I love you."_

_I dumbly replied, "You what?"_

"_Love you. Only you."_

"_Aww…Remus I love you too." I said with a giant grin creasing onto my face. Then of course we kissed. The sweetest kiss you have ever seen in your life, and definitely the most passionate. It was only mere minutes before the gentle kiss was over, and I was back in my dormitory._

"_Remus?"_

"_Hello..?"_

"_Reeeeemus?" I called out to nothingness. Not even Lily Evans was there to comfort me, and I found myself alone, all in my comforters waiting for someone or something to rescue me. I heard a whisper in my ear, but when I looked next to me, nothing was beside me. The presence of a warm body could be felt, but I couldn't see anyone anywhere in the dormitory, and it bugged me all too much._

"_Hello? Is someone here?" Another whisper, a bit louder and clearer. It was saying, "I'm right here, Colette."_

"_Who was that?"_

"_Oh you know who I am…"_

"_Mom? Mom is that you?"_

"_It is, honey."_

"_Mom? Oh mom! Wait no, you're dead. This isn't real."_

_The voice still continued to talk however. The voice of my mom. It creeped me out, so I tucked my legs under my arms, and shifted back and forth. "MOM! YOU'RE DEAD!" I shouted out to the nothingness. "YOU'RE DEAD! DEAD! DEAD! DEAD!"_

_Then I felt the presence embrace me in what seemed to be a hug. At first I was scared to death by the hug, but then for that instant, that one instant, I actually thought that presence could be my mom's spirit. My mom. I hugged it tightly, and the feeling of another human was gone, and I was left all along yet again._

"COLETTE! Are you okay! I heard a bunch of screaming saying, 'YOU'RE DEAD! DEAD! DEAD! DEAD! DEAD!' It was actually rather creepy," came a voice that I finally could count on. Lily. Good, this was a lot better than hearing the sound of my mother's beautiful tone, because I just could not take more of my mother. I swore to move past her, so I couldn't just go straight back to the way things where when I was miserable every day, and wouldn't talk to anyone. No, that wouldn't happen.

"What? Oh, yeah I'm fine. Just fine…Er yeah."

"Were you having a dream about Reeeemus?"

"No. Well, not in the ending anyways."

"Huh?"

"Er, nothing really. What time is it?"

"3:30 in the morning."

"Oh."  
"Let's get more sleep…"

"No thanks. I think I'll just sit in the common room for a while and read or something."

"If you insist."


	3. Chapter 3

_Wooo! Third chapter! Written by yours truly, Ellie.  
Again with the disclaimer: "We do not own Harry Potter, any part of Harry Potter, or anything that has to do with Harry Potter, and we never will."  
Enjoy, everyone:_

**Chapter 3:**

I quietly made my way down the staircase. Running a hand through my hair, I stared blankly at the common room in front of me. What was that dream all about? It was certainly… different.

As I plopped down onto one of the couches close to the fire, I couldn't help thinking of my mother. She was dead. She had been dead for years now, ten to be exact. I toyed with a piece of hair and tugged a blanket onto my body.

"Oh well, Colette. The only way to get over this dream is to think of something else." I whispered to myself. "What's new? Let's think…" My voice trailed off and eventually stopped. My eyelids fluttered a few times before they closed completely.

"Colette?"

I woke with a jump.

"Colette! Come on, you're going to be late for breakfast."

"Right, right. Five more minutes, Dah," I slurred, returning back to my comfortable position.

"Uch. Colette!" Lily shook me slightly.

"What, what?" I sat up straight and looked around anxiously. "What… um… what time is it?"

"Seven fourty,"

"What the hell? Leave me alone,"  
"Classes start at eight thirty," Lily grumbled at me. Her night had obviously been disturbed by my dream, and she wasn't happy.

"What? Fine…" I tore the blankets off and stood up, scratching at my eye. "See you… uh… what class is first?"

"You would be so lost without me. Potions, dear." Lily joked as she walked out of the common room.

"Right. Right. Po.. po.. potions," I stifled a yawn and walked toward the staircase. One thing I learned that day was not to close your eyes and yawn on a staircase.

"Oh, excuse me," I apologized after running into someone on the staircase.

"No no, excuse me," he responded. "Oh, morning Colette,"

"huh? Oh, Remus! …Hey… I have to... get clothes on and stuff… bye!" I spun around him and raced up the stairs, tugging nervously at a piece of hair. Hi I have to get clothes on, bye? Brilliant, Colette. You're brilliant.

I glanced down at my outfit. A tang top and boy shorts. Blushing slightly, I rushed into my room and changed.

Minutes later, I emerged clean and changed. A polo shirt, knee-socks, a tie and a sweater. I shifted my books and trotted down the staircase, out the portrait and to the Great Hall for breakfast.

As I entered the large room, I took the nearest empty seat I could find and plopped my tiny self down onto the chair. I glanced down the table and found myself not surprised to see food running along the table again

I yawned again, then rested my head in my palm. What was I thinking of bout before I fell asleep again last night? To think of something else. What was I thinking of? What bloody day was it?

"Colette! You've decided to join the living." I heard Lily say to me as she took her own seat next to me.

"Ha. G'morning to you too…" I grumbled, biting off a piece of toast.

"Excited for your first day?"

"Hardly,"

"Hah," She began to make her own breakfast, while I still stared lazily at nothing. Not a morning person, you could say.

As soon as Lily was finished eating, I dragged her out of the Great Hall and to the dungeons for Potions class. I didn't want any more "run-ins" with Lupin. It was embarrassing enough to bum pinto him on the stairs in my pajamas, I didn't need to spill my books in front of him as well.

The dungeons were certainly different from the Gryffindor tower. Cold, dark and unhappy, I didn't feel at home at all. All of the other fifth years around me, however, didn't seem to notice the atmosphere at all. Everyone took seats and pulled out textbooks.

"You'll sit next to me, okay?" Lily told me as she took a seat. I sat next to her and glanced around for the teacher.

"Who teaches potions, Lily?" I asked.

"Professor Slug-"

"Good morning, class!" called a voice obviously belonging to the teacher.

"-horn," Lily finished in a whisper.

"First, I would like you to take out last night's homework assignment," He said. He was a fat man, not to be rude, but it was very true, who waddled around, taking a look at all the students and their scrolls. "Ah, our new student!" he exclaimed as he came over to where Lily and I were sitting. "Bristow, Colette, I see. Well, I'm sure you'll make an excellent addition to our Potions class, don't you think so, students?" The class responded with a few moans. He didn't seem to notice the unenthusiastic response. "Alright. For today, brewing potions to heal…" He walked to the front of the room and picked a piece of chalk up, then began to scribble words onto the tiny black board. I turned to face Lily.

"He seems alright," I whispered to her.

"Yeah, he's fine," She whispered back. I glanced back up to the board, which was already half full of notes. Slughorn was blabbering on about some potion to heal a wound.

Suddenly, the creaking of a door echoed through the room. Heads turned to face the back of the room, including Professor Slughorn. A group of boys, not surprisingly the Marauders, entered the room. Slughorn crossed his arms.

"Do you four have a pass?" He asked.

"Do we have a pass? Um… no, but," Sirius said, grinning sheepishly. "We _do_ have an excuse."

"Oh? And what would be our excuse today, Mr. Black?" Slughorn asked with an unexpected patience in his tone.  
"Well, see, there was this big explosion and-"  
"Take a seat, please." He interrupted and pointed to empty chairs. Sirius shrugged and plopped down onto a chair. The other three followed. "As I was saying, dragon scale is a wonderful ingredient to use because…"

The next hour of class was bloody dull. Taking notes on how dragon scales effect the texture of the potion did not capture my interest at all. The only exciting part of the class was when it ended. I gathered my things and hurriedly walked out of the classroom, Lily trailing behind.

"Exciting class, eh?" I heard the familiar over-confident voice say behind me. I couldn't help but smile. It was funny to see Lily fight with James.

"Yes. In fact, I found it amazing how dragon scales make the potion a pudding like, substance, didn't you?" She sneered out to James before running to catch up with me. I giggled slightly.

"Nice," I whispered, watching as a smile crept up Lily's face.

"It's my specialty," She said back.

"What? Making James mad, or getting you mad?" She kicked me softly.

The next few classes were equally as boring. I was relieved to get to lunch and talk to Lily.

"So, what do you have next?" I asked her as I set my plate up with food.

"Care for Magical Creatures," She answered. "You?"

"Oh… I have a free period." I said, disappointed that I didn't have that period with her. "What do you do, exactly?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Like, where do I go? To a classroom?"

"Um… we usually just go out on the grounds. It's a bit cold, but most people hang out there," she said, shrugging.

"Oh. Alright," I said, unsatisfied with her answer. The grounds? She meant the open land in front of the school, right? But the grounds were huge! How could I be sure I wouldn't get lost?

Lunch soon ended, and I found that several people were also going out to the grounds. Not many, but enough to follow to find out where people went. As I followed them, I saw that they had spread from the group and all went their separate ways. I tugged on my thin sweater. It was colder than I had thought it would be. The wind blew, tossing leaves across the dying grass. There wasn't anything really exciting about the grounds at all, especially since I was alone.

I noticed a forest at the edge of the grounds. It looked dark and mysterious. I smirked to myself. I was Colette Bristow, and I was always up for an adventure.

I walked over to the forest, examining the tall trees with dead leaves falling off their branches. There wasn't a path or anything, but I just assumed that was because no one wanted to go into the forest. It wasn't very inviting at all. It even looked dangerous. But honestly, how dangerous could a little forest be?

My footsteps snapped twigs and crunched leaves. It was awfully quiet in the forest. Mysterious animal sounds I had never heard before were echoing through the trees. I pushed branches out of my way to keep walking forward. This was better than walking along the path in the front of the school.

Suddenly, a startling noise, it sounded like a growl, sounded behind me. I spun around and glanced around anxiously.

"What was that?" I asked myself, tugging at my sweater even more. I heard the growling noise again. "Hello? This isn't funny." I called out, walking backwards and spinning around, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. "Hello? Hello?"

My breathing began to become quicker and shorter. I found myself running to escape the noise, but it only grew louder.

Panicking, I stopped and leaned against a tree. I hugged my arms and sunk slowly to the ground. "Oh god. Oh god. What's out there? Why did I come in here? Why…"

The frightening noise sounded again. I could feel hot tears building up behind my eyes. What was out there? Could it kill me? As the noise grew at a steady pace, I couldn't help it anymore. I let out a scream, though I knew I was too deep in the woods for anyone to hear me. Alone and lost in a dark forest. This was not good. But then…

"Colette?" I heard a voice call out. I immediately stood up and glanced around. "Colette, are you out here?"

"Of course she's out here, you can see right there on the map."

"Well, I wanted her to hear me."

"You didn't have to say it so stupidly."

"Since when is Sirius not stupid?"

"Hey!"

"Kidding, mate."

I smiled at the bickering, then wiped at my tear filled eyes. How on Earth those boys found me was a mystery to me, but the point was that they found me, and that's all that mattered.

"COLETTE? COLETTE?" one of the voices called out again.

"James, shut up! What if someone hears us? We'll be in a ton of trouble. Why did I even bring you three? I should have just looked for her myself." I heard the familiar voice of Lily snap at James.

"Well, you would be lost as well if you had just wandered out here. You should be thankful we agreed to help you, Evans. COLETTE?"

"See, Moony? Calling out _does_ help."

"Or so says James,"

"I'm here!" I shouted out.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah. Colette? Colette!" I saw the group of people walk toward my direction. My head rushed with relief, and I found myself run straight to Lily and hug her.

"Lily! Oh! I was lost! I thought there would be a path through the woods and then I heard a noise and-"

"It's okay. Just don't go in here again, alright?" She said, and I let go, nodding. I wiped my eyes with my sleeve and turned to the boys.

"Not to be rude, but why did you come to find me?" I asked in the politest tone I could say. The boys merely grinned.

"They… have something that would help me locate you," Lily said, although she didn't seem happy about having to ask them for help.

"What is that?" I asked.

"Just a handy map," James said, waving the supposed map in front of me, though it looked more like a dirty piece of parchment.

"Oh, well thank you. Thank you so very much." I smiled at all of them, then turned back to Lily.

"We have to get back. They'll be wondering where we went." She told me. I nodded again, and then we all started back to the castle.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4 is up! As you could probably tell at this point, CP and I switch off every chapter with the writing x) It's her turn this time!  
Disclaimer: "We do not own Harry Potter. Simple enough."  
Enjoy, loves:_

**Chapter 4:**

A flash of light beamed at my eyes, and I opened them only a tad to see what it had been. Of course, it was a little something called the sun. No one was in the dorm, so I figured I had woken up a little late. Of course, I had. The clock read 12:30 PM. Twelve thirty? Seriously? I had slept in that late? Whoa, what was wrong with me? So I jumped out of my bed, threw my normal Hogwarts clothes that were already set out for me on, a little bit of makeup so I didn't look like a monster, brushed my hair and teeth, and jumped out of the door. To my surprise Lily, along with only one marauder, were talking downstairs. Lily and Remus. Oh great, my now best friend-ish-thing, and my crush were casually talking, and finally Lily had spotted me.

"Colette! Come talk with us!"

"Er…alright," I answered not so confidently, before taking a seat on a chair in front of both Remus and Lily.

"Hi. Where are the others?" Another not so confident answer, yet I hoped it to be good enough. This time, it was Remus's turn to talk.  
"Oh they are still asleep…They told me they were going to sleep in for a while so they could stay up at the party."

"Party?"

"Yeah er, the Halloween party. We have one every year in the Gryffindor common room." Now it was Lily's turn to budge in,

"Mhm, full of bloody drunks, shags, and snogging faces off of each other. I suggest you don't attend."

"Oh. Um…"  
"Well we're both going. Remus just to watch out for the marauders, and I'm going just to watch for everyone else."

"I guess I'll go then. Not much for me to do on-"but before I could finish my sentence, Sirius and James were up and adam, walking down the stairs. James then sat next to Lily, while Sirius sat next to Remus. I guess he wanted to sit next to me, but luckily I was in a chair. That was good luck.

"So, heard about the party tonight?" Asked Sirius casually.  
"Yeah," Lily and I replied at different times. Obviously the marauders had heard about it, since they were planning it.

"Cool."

"Ugh. Did you two have to ruin a pretty nice conversation? I mean really, can't you just leave us alone?" asked Lily directly towards James and Sirius, before grabbing my wrist and dragging me out of the common room. We walked out towards the grounds, and had a rather nice chat about anything and everything that went on in our lives. It was fun, but secretly I could just NOT wait for that party to start. She reminded me that it started at exactly 6:00 PM, so once the time of five o' clock arrived, we decided to get our butts moving, and get ready for the party. My old school didn't have many parties, and normally they were quite the drag, so I was definitely waiting for a wonderful Halloween party. Definitely.

When we reached our dormitory, I walked in and grabbed my suitcase, where I found a beautiful fairy costume, with wings, a dress, stocking/tight things, small ballet flats, and a headband, and the whole deal. I must say, it was gorgeous.A shower was needed greatly, so I turned up the hot water, and jumped right in. Once I was done with my shower, I threw the clothes on, along with brushed my hair again for the millionth time. Next I brushed my teeth, and put on my "special" makeup only for rare occasions. According to everyone in the school, this was one. Once I was done, Lily actually gasped at how I looked.

"You look great, Colette," she nicely commented.

"Aww you look great too. I love the costume, thanks! And you're Dorothy is great." We dashed downstairs to find that it was already six thirty, and almost everyone was there. Of course, so were the marauders.

I found myself rather embarrassed at the fact that once I found Remus, (although I didn't talk to him per say), his mouth was gaping open at the sight of me. Yes, embarrassing to the maximum indeed. Along with him were Sirius, and James, and surprisingly Lily. Man, was she everywhere with them or what? Oh well, she was probably dragged there by Remus. They seemed to be rather good friends, I must say. Remus was dressed in what seemed to be a Zorro costume, while James was in the classic James Bond costume, and the attire suited both of them well. Then there was Sirius, going for the "hot robber" costume, which made me laugh so hard, although luckily he didn't notice me laughing. I walked over to the bunch, to find James still trying to persuade Lily to go out with him.

"Please Lily! Just one date!"

"NO POTTER!"

And it went on and on until Lily finally realized that I was actually right in front of the two. Unfortunately, now Sirius was staring at me too. I think the skirt was a little too short in the back. Well, not too short, but enough for Sirius to freak. Actually it went to my mid thigh, but you know guys. Eh, oh well it wasn't like he was going to pounce on me.  
"You look rather ravishing tonight," Sirius slurred a bit, and I knew he was already starting to get drunk.

"Er thanks…I guess," I answered. Indeed I was starting to get a little angry at his attitude towards women. He acted like Mr. Hot shot all the time, as I was starting to realize, although he wasn't too much of a nuisance. I'm sure he could be of help in some ways. Maybe.  
"He's right. You look nice." Oddly enough, the voice that had said this was Remus. Ah, and the butterflies in my stomach started fluttering around yet again at the thought of him saying this to me. A few hours past, and by the first hour, Sirius was gone, probably off to snog a million girls and drink all the fire whiskey he wanted. Neither Lily, nor Remus, nor I, took even a single sip from the fire whiskey. Although James took a couple, he wasn't drunk or anything. Sirius came back at about eleven, when we all decided that we could play a game of spin the bottle. Alright so James, and Sirius, decided it, but Remus and I went along with it, pulling Lily along with us as we went. Kind of a stupid idea, I guess, but we were bored and fifteen, what else were we going to do? We all decided best place to do it was in the boys dormitory, since of course they couldn't reach the girls dormitory if they tried, and the common room was too loud. So off we went to the boys' dormitory.

Once we reached it, I found it to be quite a mess, all except Remus's bed, which made me rather happy. Good, he was rather cleanly, but not too much of a clean freak.

"Alright, who's going to begin?" asked Sirius before we all sat down in a circle. At my right, was Lily, who was next to James, and at my left was Remus, who was next to Sirius.

"I'll go!" shouted James excitedly before grabbing a fire whiskey bottle out of Sirius' hand, and spinning it in a circle. It passed me, then the others, me, then the others, me, then the others, and it finally stopped. To Lily's horror, it stopped straight on her. Dead on, I'd have to say. James laughed excitedly before Lily leapt in horror.

"Alright you two love birds. Before you pounce on eachother, here's the rules. The first time you have to kiss someone, it's a peck, second time you use minimal tongue use for thirty seconds, and fifth is full on snogging, tongues used and two minute minimum."

"NO. NO JAMES," she spluttered, trying to get up. Unfortunately for her, she could not get up as James had locked lips with her right then on the spot. When their brief kiss ended, Lily spun the bottle, and it landed on Sirius.

"Oh no. Hell no."  
"Come here, Evans!" Once again before she could get up and leave, Sirius had shoved his tongue in her mouth slightly, and she couldn't break away. Once the thirty seconds were over, Sirius grinned broadly and returned to his normal spot in the circle. Now he spun the bottle, and it landed straight on me. Luckily it was only a small peck, so he pecked my lips with his own, and we were done. Although oddly enough, he had an even broader smirk than when he had half snogged Lily.

"Alright, my turn," I spoke before spinning the bottle a little faster than I had intended. It seemed ages until the bottle had spun, and awkwardly enough it had spun right at Remus. We both looked at each other, and I couldn't help but to blush like crazy.  
"Er…" was all I could mutter before we leaned into each other for the kiss. It started out rough, but it got smoother. Unfortunately by the time it got smoother, the kiss was over and we had to stop. I wasn't really imagining my Prince Charming to have to kiss me in front of a bunch of people, during a game. Not much of a fun idea, but oh well. Better than nothing, right? Remus spun the bottle, and I couldn't help but start to laugh when it landed on Sirius.

"Sorry mate, but we don't do mixed kisses her. Well, since we are all straight. Spin again," said Sirius cautiously torn his friend. So, Remus spun the bottle yet again, and it seemed once again forever until it landed on me. This would be good, yet bad. Ahh a snog? Two minutes? This was crazy! Plus by now it was almost 12:30 and I was thinking of falling asleep. Well, maybe it wouldn't be all too bad.

Before I could get my thoughts processed any more, he had leant into me, and our tongues began to move around like a ballet. It was quite "passionate" if you don't mind me saying. Hah, in fact, I loved it. Remus, my love, although he didn't know he was my love, was pouring his soul right into me and he didn't even know it. He was so wonderful. Whoa, getting a little too soft there. So once we finished the two minutes, I blushed like a giant red tomato, and I probably looked like one too. Next thing I knew Lily was making a kind excuse and we were running out of the boys' dormitory, so that I could scream and giggle all I wanted in the girls dorm.

"Oh my gosh!" Yes, those were my brilliant words that came through my mouth, after that wonderful scene.

"Hah. Did you see Sirius? He looked as if he was about to blow up. And then Remus after the kiss? He looked as much like a tomato as you did! Get a room, goodness gracious!" she giggled happily at me.

"Oh god Lily, was I that red?"

"Actually…yes."

"Oops." I grinned, at the thought of the two of us being embarrassed. Man, Hogwarts parties were most definitely better than my old school.


	5. Chapter 5

_Ellie's turn...  
Disclaimer: "Harry Potter does not belong to us blah blah blah..."  
Read, fool:_

**Chapter 5:**

Lily and I soon fell asleep after we changed from our costumes and got into bed. I was sleeping soundly until the familiar dream popped into my head again. This time, I wasn't dancing with Lupin, but I still could hear my mother's voice. I was sitting in a dark room and unable to see anything around me. The only thing I could sense was my mother's voice calling out to me.

"Colette! Colette!" she called out. I shivered and didn't respond. "Colette! Why

would you ignore your own mother? Colette! The room, the room! Hidden!" I covered my ears to get rid of the voice, but couldn't escape it. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the voice of my dead mother to go away.

"Go away! You're dead! Stop it, you're dead!" I shouted back, but as I opened my eyes, I didn't see the dark room anymore. I saw my dorm room. This room was dark as well, but I could faintly see the outline of a bed and a window. I sat up in my bed and wrung my hands anxiously.

'What does this mean?' I thought. 'Is Mom trying to contact me or something? Is she really not dead? She has to be dead! I went to her funeral and everything!' I threw the covers off my legs and

walked over to the door. For the second night since I had arrived at Hogwarts, I was going down into the Common Room during the middle of the night.

As I plopped myself down on the couch, thoughts kept racing through my mind. 'What did she mean by the room and how it was hidden?' Then suddenly a thought popped into my head. What if she was telling me to look for her in the castle? 'Yes, of course! I have to find her in the castle! But how? This place is huge! Hm… Oh, I'll figure it out. Right now I have to go find her!' I sat up and jumped off the couch, then raced back to my dorm and grabbed my wand.

I knew that students weren't allowed to wander the halls at night, but I didn't care. I

had to find my mother and try to understand what this was all about. If Filch came around, I would just hide until he went away.

I tiptoed my way up the staircases until I reached some floor that seemed suitable. I jumped off the staircase just before it started to move, and glanced down the hall. It was long and had many doorways off of it. Sighing softly, I started down the hall, wand lit with the lumos spell and senses ready for my mother to contact me again.

It took a surprisingly long time to reach an empty classroom. Every other one was filled with desks and teaching supplies that were obviously just used recently, due to their lack of dust. The one classroom that I came across I knew

was abandoned because there was a lot of junk that people seemed to just toss in there as a storing room, and a rather large amount of dust piling up on each object.

'This is the one,' I thought to myself, gripping my wand tightly. 'This is where my mother is. The question is, however, where inside here is she?' I crawled over desks, chairs, and other miscellaneous things to get to the other side of the classroom. A suspicious looking door was in a corner of the room. I pushed away cobwebs and grasped at the handle.

Locked. Not surprising at all.

I said the unlocking spell, and then tried at the door again. It unlocked and slowly creaked open as I pushed against it. What I saw surprised me. This was no ordinary closet. It didn't even look like a closet at all, really. More like a hallway. It stretched out for as far as I could see. There was nothing down the hall except more spider webs and stone walls.

'Well,' I thought, 'Here goes nothing!' I stepped into the doorway and held my wand up for more light. I walked for what seemed to be five minutes before coming across another doorway. Slightly annoyed at all the doors I had to unlock, I turned the doorknob and entered yet another room. Though this one was not a hallway, it was an actual room. A… familiar room…

I glanced around, holding my light up to the darkness, but still could not see much of anything. I walked toward the middle, or what I thought would be the middle, of the room and sat down, holding my wand up and around me.

Suddenly, I heard a voice.

"Colette? Is that you?" it said. Startled, I spun around.

"Who's there? What do you want?" I cried.

"Colette. Relax, love.

I'm just a lonely spirit looking for some company." The voice did not sound like my mother any longer. It sounded like a lonely woman.

"Spirit?" I asked, standing up.

"Yes, I'm a spirit." It answered patiently.

"Are you… a ghost?"

"We're different creatures, dear. Spirits are lost souls wandering aimlessly around until they find something that will make them happy or completely die." It said to me. I

shivered at the thought. "Ghosts are-"

"I know what ghosts are." I stated, almost rudely, then walked forward. "What do you want with me? I'm brand new here! Why would you want some stupid half blood who gets lost in the woods and has a crush on-" What was I doing? Shutup, Colette, shutup! But the spirit simply laughed softly.

"You really are… what they say you are."  
"What? Who says I'm what?" I asked sternly.

"Oh,

nothing."

"I'm getting a bit ticked, what do you want with me?"

"I want you to keep me company. Innocent company, that's all," She said with sadness in her tone.

"Oh," I answered, feeling slightly guilty. She was just a lost soul and wanted some company. Surely I could give her that. "Well, alright. What do you want to talk about, then?"

"I… don't know," she said.

"Well, why don't you tell me about yourself? How did you become a spirit, exactly?" I was curious about how these spirits work. I was also feeling a bit silly talking out into the open without a face to stare at. The voice was just coming out of nowhere and speaking to me. It wasn't echoing throughout the room, so maybe she was inside my head? I shook my head. That was crazy.

"Well," she began, "I went to Hogwarts as well,"

"Really?"  
"Of course. Why else would I be here if I hadn't gone to

Hogwarts?"  
"I… don't know." I said sheepishly.

"Anyway, I was about fifteen when I was killed. I don't know what happened. One minute I was in the forbidden woods, only at the edge, of course. I thought nothing could hurt me, since I was so nearby the grounds, when suddenly a creature, or a person, I never figured it out, killed me on the spot!" I winced.

"That's awful!" I cried, sinking to my knees.

"Yes, it is. I don't think I was dead for more than a

few days before I realized I was still there. Just because I didn't have a body didn't mean that I wasn't actually _there._ Since I didn't have even a presence like the ghosts did, I wandered the halls, occasionally popping into people's heads and causing them to go mad." She chuckled almost in an evil way. I gulped and backed up. "Oh, sorry dear." She said, though I didn't return to my other spot.

"So… how did you find yourself in this place? It's so… lonely." I asked.

"Well, I just ended up here one day. I found it peaceful, and I was able to sleep. Not like I was actually dead, but I could rest and not be disturbed."

"So why did you come to me in my dreams?"

"Well, you disturbed me, dear. I don't know why or what you did, but you being at the school awoke me. At first, I didn't know why I was awake. I was concerened that I would never be able to get back to sleep. So I went to the first person I found suspicious. Since you were the newest student here, I assumed that you had something to do with my waking up."

"But I didn't do anything, I swear!" I argued.

"I know you didn't do anything, but I think it's just you being here that stirred me." She said cooly...

**ooc: CLIFF HANGER!**


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